LifeFlight Maine Solves Staffing Crisis

LifeFlight of Maine has become nearly fully staffed for the first time in nine years. The Bangor-based nonprofit achieved this milestone by restructuring how it treats and retains its medical crews. CEO Joe Kellner implemented these changes after taking office in 2023 to address a retention rate that had previously hovered between 60% and 70%.

Demand for air medical services in Maine has doubled since 2015. LifeFlight crews completed 3,031 flights in 2025, a rate of more than one every three hours. Demand increased by another 10% this year. Nicholas George, who runs the national ETHOS Database for air medical programs, stated that the need for these services is increasing year over year.

The surge in flights reflects a national trend where air ambulances fill gaps left by rural hospital closures. The Congressional Budget Office estimates Medicaid cuts will remove $911 billion over the next decade. Hundreds of rural hospitals or maternity departments face immediate closure risk. Ground ambulance stations also struggle to meet demand, forcing flight clinicians to handle more interfacility transports than scene calls.

LifeFlight’s approach distinguishes it from the for-profit air medical industry. Mike Abernethy, a retired emergency medicine professor at the University of Wisconsin, called the company a model program. He argued that the aviation and medical quality of such nonprofit programs has no comparison to average for-profit businesses.

The company introduced a six to eight month orientation program called the Critical Care Academy. Instructors use high-fidelity simulations to train paramedics and nurses. One assessment involved a mannequin patient with a breathing crisis. Paramedics Daniel Horne and Brad Alleger attempted intubation on the mannequin before switching to a pig trachea for a surgical procedure. These drills cover rare but critical events like emergency births and burns.

Kellner also raised paramedic pay to match that of flight nurses. Industrywide, paramedics earn less, a gap that keeps costs down but complicates recruitment. LifeFlight also hired a full-time mental health counselor. EMS workers experience rates of post-traumatic stress injury, anxiety, and depression that are more than five times higher than the average American.

Paramedic Brian Merklin joined LifeFlight after leaving the profession for a few years. He previously worked for a service in Nevada during the pandemic, where crews worked four-day shifts and about a third of the staff quit. Merklin now serves on a peer support team at LifeFlight. He described the mental health support as unique in his experience.

Kellner noted that training a new employee costs approximately $100,000. Keeping two or three experienced workers through counseling makes the investment worthwhile. The service continues to operate from its Bangor headquarters, preparing crews for transports to small local hospitals and larger trauma centers.